Vioxx alternatives may not be totally safe

Recently released market share data reveals that after the recall of Vioxx, two drugs manufactured by the drug giant Pfizer have benefited a lot: Celebrex and Bextra. It is important to remember that these two drugs belong to the same family of drugs, as Vioxx, known by the technical name Cox-2 inhibitors. Pfizer Chief Medical Officer Joe Feczko has defended Pfizer's medicines, despite the fact that both drugs work by the same basic mechanism as Vioxx. Feczko emphasized that these drugs are different from Vioxx on a chemical level.

One lesson that every American can learn from the Vioxx recall scandal is that it is no longer a good idea to trust a drugmaker or the FDA or even your own doctor. You are basically on your own right now, since when things get ugly, no one is going to come and help you. On the other hand, Merck is aggressively defending its position, without admitting any guilt at all, even though it is well documented that Merck knew long ago that Vioxx could kill people.

So when you take either Celebrex and Bextra or anything else for pain relief, you also have to make your own decisions regarding the risk that you want to take. For instance, a preliminary study discussed at the American Heart Association's annual meeting indicated that Bextra more than doubled the risk of heart and stroke among heart disease patients taking the painkiller. Pfizer does not agree with the data completely but says that Bextra will have a serious warning that it can cause a potentially deadly skin reaction. The fact that Bextra, given with an injectable drug, increased the risk of heart attacks following open-heart surgery will also be included in the Bextra label.

Remember that statements made by Pfizer sound so similar to those made by Merck over the life of Merck. Merck never agreed to any data that was presented that questioned Vioxx. While it is likely that ongoing studies may very well prove that Pfizer is right, but till sufficient data is available, you should be cautious.

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